Electrode



Sept. 15, 1925.

N. P. SJOBRING ET AL ELECTRODE Filed Sept. 2'7, 1923 [22061275251 Mala P flg'bi'mg Mia/71 22 61037250 4 complete tube.

this purpose have been known countered in the operation of many such derollers.

pitting have occurred during service.

'lates to electrodes.

edges of said formed ribbon by the process ingthe welding operation.

scri tion proceeds. i

1,553,728,. NT OFFICE.

A NELS P. saoimme' AND MARTIN SWANSON, or MILWAUKEE, wrsconsm', ssIeNoRs T0 GLOBE s'rnm. TUBES COMPANY, or MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION or D LAW RE A v PatentedSepj. 15, 1925.

ELEFTRODE.

. Application filed September 27,1923. Serialo. 665,064.

transformer, which source 1 has the terminal 2 which, in the present instance, is illustrat- I ed as being a bearing member in the form of a track. Slidably mounted upon the track 2 is the electrode support 3 which may be moved in a direction toward and from the observer for the purpose of providing adjustability. Bolts 3', 3' may be provided for holding the support 3 inadjusted position. The support 3 has a spindle 4 screw threaded therein, said spindle having a shoulder portion 5 on which is mounted a hall-bearing 6 which forms the lower bearing of the elecare used inthe welding of tubing. --trode 7. The electrode 7 is supported 011 As is well known, tubing may be cheaply its upper side by the ball-bearing 8. Ballmade by forming a fiat strip of ribbon" into bearing 8 may be held in position against tubular form and welding the adjacent side the top side of electrode 7 by means of the nut 9 which has a screw threaded engagement with the spindle 4. It will be clear that by turning the spindle 4 the electrode 7 may 75 be adjusted vertically, as desired, within the spindle 4 is the To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, Nms P. SJOBRING and RTIN SWANSON, citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of isconsin, and at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have jointly invented certain new and useful Improvements in an Electrode, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to electrodes.

ore particularly the present invention reof the roller type which of passing an electric current across the seam between said side edges whereby to form a Devices for accomplishing for many llmits. Mounted within years but serious dlfliculties have been enrod 10 provided with head portion 11 at the lower end thereof, which head portion 11 vices by reason of the fact that the elecbears against the under side of electrode su trodes have not efiiciently performed their port 3. At the upper endof the rod 10 is a purpose. It has been determined through nut 12 having a screw threaded engagement extensive experimentation that some of the with said rod 10. The numeral 13 indicates difficulties encountered in the past in the a flattened portion of the spindle 4 whereby electric welding of tubing has been due to the said spindle may be conveniently gripped fact that the tubing has not been rigidly witha wrench when it is desired to adjust held while passing between the electrode nut 9 or nut 12. Tightening down upon the Other difliculties have been traced nut 12 has the efi'ect of holding the spindle to thefact that it has been diflicult to turn' 4, bearings 6 and 8, and electrode 7, all in, down the rollers to true form after wear and their proper vertical positions. The electrode roller 7 is a fabricated structure having the hub portion 14 supported by the ball-bearings 6 and 18. Said hub-portion is provided with an annular shoulder 15 which forms an abutment for the electrode ring 16 which has screw thlreaded engagement with the hub.14, whereby to have a good electrical contact with said hub 14. Also supported by the hub 14 is the ring 17,, said ring 17 being held rigidly in placeby meansv of a plurality of circumferentiallyv spaced bolts 18, only one of which is illusvtrated in thg drawing. Theelectrode ring 16 may be composed of cop r or other metal which will stand up we] in service and which presents a high degree of conduc tivity. The ring 17 may be of material ofsubstantially the same wearing quality as copper and which may be tooled in a lathe or otherv machine in substantially the same 10 [An object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide an electrode construe-.4 tion which will hold the tubing securely dur- A further object is to provide an electrode constructionwhich combines the advantages of a sturdy construction, ready adjustability, high electrical conductivityand a highv degree of adaptability to machining when such machining is necessary to bring sa d electrode to proper form after wear and pitting have occurred in service.

Further obj cts will appear as the de- 108 e one figure of the drawing is a vertical sectional view illustrating a preferred em- I bodiment of the present invention. .The numeral 1 indicates a part of a source of electrical current, such, for instance,.as a

35 electrode is maintaine 55 roller 7 which way that the material of electrode ring 16 may be tooled. The material of the ring 17 may be copper, brass or other material. Said ring 17 is insulated from ring 16, hub

14 and. bolts 18, 18 by insulating material 19. The insulating material may be ebony board, asbestos or other material which will stand up well in service.

The Welding ring 16, the holding ring 17 and the insulating material "19 may be grooved, as indicated in the drawing, to

provide practically a semi-circle The groove in the electrode illustrated will, when the electrode is used in cooperationswith a corresponding electrode, form a substantially circular outline for the reception of tub: ing to be welded. It need not be explained that in service the weldin ring 16 will be so designed as to leave a s ort gap between the. corresponding part of a cooperating welding electrode whereby electric current in said welding ring 16 will be caused to pass through the tubing to be welded. The insulating material 19, it will be noted, 'con stitutes only a very small proportion of the.

semi-circumference provided by the groove in the electrode roller 7. In practice it has been found that the electrode ring 16 composed of copper, the ring 17 composed of brass, and the insulating material .19 comterial 19 and members 16 and 17, the greatest wear will occur on the insulating mate-' rial 19, and inasmuch as said insulating ma terial comprises only a small proportion of the semi-circumference of the peripheral groove of the electrode roller, and inasmuch as said insulating material 19 is located at a region distant from the .welding region,

the net result of wear of said insulating material is a minimum. A

The hub 1 1 of the electrode roller 7 is 9 provided with an annular trough 20 for the reception of a cooling medium, and the support 3 is provided with an annular trough 21 for the reception of a cooling medium. A ipe 22 may be mounted inthe trough 20 and with .the trougp 21 whereby 1. flow of cooling medium wil occur from said trough 20 to said trough 21. Said cooling medium may be conducted away from the trough 21 through any preferred conduit (not shown). I

The numeral 23 indicates an annular shoulder projecting downwardly from the electrode roller 7, being indicated as integral with the hub l l of said roller. Said down- .embodiment of the present pipe communicates with they wardly projecting shoulder extends into the trough 24 of thesupport 3, which trough may be filled with mercury or any other fluid of good conductivity.

The manner in which the above described invention achieves the objects above set forth will be clear without detailed description. By reason of the adjustability of the spindle 4 the electrode roller may be adjusted vertically and by reason of the sliding engagement of the electrode support 3 relative to the terminal 2 adjustability is secured in a plane normal to the axis of rotation of said roller.

The electrode support 3, the mercury bath.

within the trough 24 and the close engagement between the hub 14 and the electrode ring 16 provides a low path for electric current from the transformer 1 to the extremity of the welding ring 16. The electrode may have its temperature kept down to a safe point by reason of the cooling medium supplied ,to the trough 20 and thence directed through the pipe 22.to the trough 21. The insulating material 19 effectually insulates the hub 14, bolts 18, 18 and the'welding ring 16 from the holding ring 17.

In practice, the electrode roller illustrated will be used in cooperation with a corresponding electrode, the peripheral groove in said electrodes receiving a. tube to be welded, the seam in'said tube being located between the outer extremity of the electrode ring 16 and a corresponding part on the cooperating electrode roller.- Therin 16 and 17 ,and insulating material 19 wil serve to hold the tubing during the welding operation and for this purpose the said rings 16 and 17 and insulating material 19 should embrace substantially a semi-circumference, the electrode ring 16, however, being of such a diameter that there will be no actual physical contact between the outer extremity of said electrode ring 16 and thecorresponding portion of the cooperating electrode. I

Inasmuch as the rings 16 and 17 may both be of metal, it is a simple matter to turn same down in a lathe or similar machine tool when repairs are necessary. The insulating material 19 need constitute only a small proportion of the semi-circumference of the grooved periphery of the electrode, for which reason said insulating material presents no difiiculties either from the standpoint of wear or the matter of turning down the electrode in"a lathe. As noted above, if the insulating material 19 should tend to wear faster than the rings 16 and 17 such action can do no harm inasmuch as the in sulating material 19 constitutes only a small fraction of the holdin surface of the electrode, said small fraction being spaced distantly from the region of the welding current. Y

Though a preferred embodiment'hasbeen illustratedyit will be clear that many modiplicable to other cross-sectional shapes. It

s intended in this atent to cover all such modifications that an within the scope of the a pended claims. 4

Wfiat is claimed is:

1. An electrode structure porting means, a rotatable said supporting means, an

aving screw threaded engagement with said hub, a holding ring supported by said hub,.said holding ring having cutting characteristics similar to said electrode ring and insulating material for insulati said holding ring from said hub and sa1d electrode rin 2 An electrode roller comprising a hub, :1

comprising supelectrode ring to provide 'a good electrlcal connection thereped to weld cylinthe invention is readily ap-- hub carried by bolted to said hub for insulating said day of September, 1923. welding ring intimately united to said hub with, a holding ring, insulating material for insulating said holding rlng from said welding ring, said weldingfring, holdin ring and insulating material being groove to provide a substantially semi-circumferenjor' insulating said holding ring from the remainder of said roller.

4. An electrode roller comprising a hub,

" an electrode ring having screw threaded engagement 'with said hub, a holding ring and insulating material holdi ring from the remainder of said roller, sa1d electrode rin .and holding ring having substantiallfthe same cuttin%fiharacteristics.'

Signed at lwaukce,

Y NELS 1 sJoBRING. MARTIN SWANSON.

Wisconsin, this 21'st 

